Officials say US forces on track to complete Iraq pullout by September 30

US military officials said Wednesday that American forces are on track to complete their withdrawal from Iraq by September 30, ending a presence that began with the 2003 invasion. The pullout follows a 2024 agreement to wind down operations against the Islamic State. Iraqi PM Ali al-Zaidi affirmed the date after meeting with US Central Command chief Adm. Brad Cooper. A US official confirmed the expected completion but declined to give troop numbers. Kurdish officials said a drawdown from Erbil began about three weeks ago.

US military officials said Wednesday that American forces are on track to complete their withdrawal from Iraq by September 30, marking the end of a presence that began with the 2003 invasion. The pullout follows a 2024 agreement between Washington and Baghdad to wind down the smaller US-led operations against the Islamic State group. US troops left bases in most of Iraq last year but maintained a presence in the northern Kurdish region, where bases have come under attack since the US and Israel launched the war with Iran on February 28. Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi met with Adm. Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command, on Wednesday and affirmed September 30 as the "fixed and final date" for ending the Global Coalition mission. A US official confirmed the expected completion but declined to say how many troops remain or where they will be redeployed. Two Iraqi Kurdish officials said a drawdown from Erbil began about three weeks ago. The US presence peaked at over 170,000 troops in 2007, dropped to about 2,500 after 2021, and now faces a deadline for disarming non-state militias, which some powerful Iran-backed groups have rejected.